Ben Solomon

Paul Costello, the founding chief executive of the $160 billion Future Fund, has celebrated his survival from lung, brain and liver cancer with a fund-raising effort for the Peter MacCallum Cancer Centre in Melbourne.

So far, in just two weeks of the campaign, he has raised nearly $100,000 to aid the research being done by the Centre, whose senior lung cancer specialist oncologist, Professor Ben Solomon, orchestrated a miraculous intervention with an experimental drug from the US.

While he says he is living, and now enjoying, every moment of his life with his family, first, and friends, thanks largely to Professor Solomon, Mr Costello says the advancements to do with genetic research are very important to the thousands of Australians who will contract the illness every year.

At an event held at the Future Fund on August 22, Mr Costello told the story of his remarkable journey with his cancers. He was at death’s door in March this year, but professor Solomon had managed to locate and source an experimental drug which addressed the rare genetic factor which had caused Mr Costello’s initial lung cancer problem. Like about 20 per cent of lung cancer sufferers, half of whom are likely to die within 12 months of diagnosis, Mr Costello had never smoked. Lung cancer is the biggest killer of all cancers.

At the fund-raising event, David Neal, the chief executive of the Future Fund, who Mr Costello recruited as the fund’s initial chief investment officer in 2007, remembered the dignity and courage which he showed when, nearly six months ago, he and his loved ones thought he was about to die.

“Throughout his journey he showed courage, optimism and hope all along the way,” Mr Neal said. “I think role models are important in life and I feel privileged that Paul was one of mine.”

It had been a journey of twists and turns, often savage, Mr Costello told the 90-odd people at the fund-raiser at the Future Fund headquarters in Melbourne.

After putting up with an annoying cough for several weeks and subsequent tests he was diagnosed with late-stage lung cancer in February last year. It was the day before his 60th birthday. He reached out to an oncologist friend in Auckland who recommended Professor Solomon at the Peter MacCallum Cancer Centre. Professor Solomon took on the case.

After a year of treatments – chemotherapy, immunotherapy and radiotherapy – with the cancer having spread to his brain and then his liver, Mr Costello and his family were preparing themselves for the end. He was in palliative care and in a lot of pain

But Professor Solomon also showed optimism through the darkest hours. He was in contact with the US pharmaceutical company, LOXO Oncology, and was trying get Mr Costello onto a clinical trial program. Unfortunately, he was considered too ill for the program but the company gave him the drug on compassionate grounds.

“Never let it be said that big pharma doesn’t have a heart,” Mr Costello said. Despite the risks, for both the Peter MacCallum Cancer Centre and himself, he agreed to give it a go. The result was remarkable. Within days the drug had worked and he was able to function, almost normally, within a few weeks.

Mr Costello told his friends, family and industry colleagues, at the function at the Future Fund on August 22, that he realised there would be an ongoing battle between the drugs and cancer. Cancer has a tendency to evolve to counter whatever is thrown at it.

“But I have had the time to prioritise my life and with this evening’s fund raising, I want to try to give something back to the people, such as Professor Solomon, who have allowed me some extra, very precious, time with my family and friends,” he said.

For information and donations go to: https://foundation.petermac.org/paul-costello

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Mr Costello has previously been the inaugural Managing Director of the Future Fund and the first CEO of the New Zealand Superannuation Fund.

The Committee will review all investment and divestment proposals made by QIC’s Global Infrastructure team. Its other key responsibilities are to ensure that risks are satisfactorily identified, managed, measured and reported on.

Commenting on Mr Costello’s new leadership role, QIC CEO Damien Frawley said, “Paul’s appointment further underscores our commitment to world class investment management, strong governance and deep risk management. We have significant global growth plans for our infrastructure capability and his role will be important to its success.”

Mr Costello started in the role at QIC in late 2014. The Committee will comprise members of QIC’s Global Infrastructure team incuding the two founders Ross Israel and Matina Papathanasiou and two Partners on a rotating basis. In addition to Mr Costello as Independent Chairman, the committee will also include Peter Forbes, a highly experienced independent expert.

Speaking about his appointment, Mr Costello said: “I’m pleased to be joining QIC at an especially exciting time for its global infrastructure capability. Governments around the world are recognising a greater role for private sector participation in infrastructure and QIC’s infrastructure pedigree is second to none. I look forward to helping QIC expand its infrastructure funds management offerings to clients. “

QIC pointed to Mr Costello’s appointment as further evidence of its commitment to its infrastructure capability, noting that it also recently developed a global infrastructure fund, the QIC Global Infrastructure Fund, that is now open to Australian institutional investors and is intended to be made available to offshore investors.

The QIC Global Infrastructure Fund has secured cornerstone commitments totalling A$645 million from four investors comprising two QIC foundation clients, an Asian sovereign wealth fund and a major Australiansuperannuation fund.

Action is also underway to gain regulatory fund registrations for the Fund in a number of international jurisdictions.

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